by Virginia Humling (Compiled by)
Now you can more easily locate records of religious events such as baptisms and marriages, as well as other ecclesiastical documents related to Catholic churches throughout America. Such documents are primary resources for valuable genealogical data. While the parish is the most fundamental unit for researching Roman Catholic records, diocesan archives are often the key to locating parishes, schools, hospitals, and other Catholic institutions--some of which may have moved or closed over the years. U.S. Catholic Sources identifies each archdiocese and diocese in the U.S. and provides geographical boundaries, addresses and contact information, and briefly outlines the holdings and research policies for each. Diocesan archives often contain copies of diocesan newspapers, diocesan, parish and institutional histories, records from closed churches, and more.